Imagineyouenteracarwithnosteeringwheel,nobrakeoracceleratorpedals(踏板).Underavoice-activatedcommand,yousayanaddress“Thefastestroutewilltakeus15.3minutes.ShouldItakeit?”Yousay“yes”andyouareonyourway.Thecarrespondsandstartsmovingallbyitself.Allyouhavetodoissitbackandrelax.Howweirdwoulditbeif,onedayinthefuture,everyonehadsuchacar?Nocrazydiving,noinsults,nocuttingin;trafficlawswouldberespectedanddrivingmuchsafer.Ontheotherhand,imaginethecostsavingsforlocalpoliceenforcementandtownbudgetswithoutallthosespeedingandparkingtickets.Anewtechnologyhasthepotentialtochangemodernsocietyinradicalways.There’snoquestionthatself-drivingvehiclescouldbeanenormousbenefit.Thepotentialforsafercarsmeansaccidentstatisticswoulddrop:some94%ofroadaccidentsintheU.S.involvehumanerror.Olderdriversandvisually-orphysically-impairedpeoplewouldgainanewleveloffreedom.Maintainingsafespeedsandbeingelectric,self-drivingcarswoulddrasticallyreducepollutionlevelsanddependencyonnon-renewablefuels.Roadswouldbequieter,peoplesafer.Butwemustalsoconsidertheimpactofthenewtechnologyonthosewhonowdependondrivingfortheirlivelihoods.AccordingtotheU.S.DepartmentofLabor,inMay2015therewere505,560registeredschoolbusdrivers.TheAmericanTruckingAssociationlistsapproximately3.5millionprofessionaltruckdriversintheU.S.Thecompaniesdevelopingself-drivingvehiclesshouldbepartneringwithstateandfederalauthoritiestoofferretrainingforthismassiveworkforce,manyofwhomwillbedisplacedbythenewtechnology.Thisissimilartowhat’shappeninginthecoalandoilindustries,asituationthatfuelsmuchofthecurrentpoliticaldiscontentinthiscountry.Newtechnologieswill,andshould,bedeveloped.Thisishowsocietymovesforward.However,progresscan’tbeone-sided.Itisnecessaryforthecompaniesandstateagenciesinvolvedtoconsidertheethicalconsequencesofthesepotentialchangestobuildabetterfutureforall.13.Whatwouldbethenegativeimpactofdriverlesscars?
Imagineyouenteracarwithnosteeringwheel,nobrakeoracceleratorpedals(踏板).Underavoice-activatedcommand,yousayanaddress“Thefastestroutewilltakeus15.3minutes.ShouldItakeit?”Yousay“yes”andyouareonyourway.Thecarrespondsandstartsmovingallbyitself.Allyouhavetodoissitbackandrelax.Howweirdwoulditbeif,onedayinthefuture,everyonehadsuchacar?Nocrazydiving,noinsults,nocuttingin;trafficlawswouldberespectedanddrivingmuchsafer.Ontheotherhand,imaginethecostsavingsforlocalpoliceenforcementandtownbudgetswithoutallthosespeedingandparkingtickets.Anewtechnologyhasthepotentialtochangemodernsocietyinradicalways.There’snoquestionthatself-drivingvehiclescouldbeanenormousbenefit.Thepotentialforsafercarsmeansaccidentstatisticswoulddrop:some94%ofroadaccidentsintheU.S.involvehumanerror.Olderdriversandvisually-orphysically-impairedpeoplewouldgainanewleveloffreedom.Maintainingsafespeedsandbeingelectric,self-drivingcarswoulddrasticallyreducepollutionlevelsanddependencyonnon-renewablefuels.Roadswouldbequieter,peoplesafer.Butwemustalsoconsidertheimpactofthenewtechnologyonthosewhonowdependondrivingfortheirlivelihoods.AccordingtotheU.S.DepartmentofLabor,inMay2015therewere505,560registeredschoolbusdrivers.TheAmericanTruckingAssociationlistsapproximately3.5millionprofessionaltruckdriversintheU.S.Thecompaniesdevelopingself-drivingvehiclesshouldbepartneringwithstateandfederalauthoritiestoofferretrainingforthismassiveworkforce,manyofwhomwillbedisplacedbythenewtechnology.Thisissimilartowhat’shappeninginthecoalandoilindustries,asituationthatfuelsmuchofthecurrentpoliticaldiscontentinthiscountry.Newtechnologieswill,andshould,bedeveloped.Thisishowsocietymovesforward.However,progresscan’tbeone-sided.Itisnecessaryforthecompaniesandstateagenciesinvolvedtoconsidertheethicalconsequencesofthesepotentialchangestobuildabetterfutureforall.13.Whatwouldbethenegativeimpactofdriverlesscars?